Shoe sole



Sept. 15, 1959 M. MENDOZA SHOEISOLE' Filed July 19, 1956 J INVENIORMiznuez jllvuzoza ATTORNEYS U ited States Patent O 'fiiice PatentedSept. 15, 1959 SHOE SOLE Manuel Mendoza, Port Isabel, Tex. ApplicationJuly 19, 1956, Serial No. 598,870

1 Claim. (Cl. 317-2) The present invention relates to shoe soles, andmore particularly to shoe soles having contact members extendingtherethrough to eliminate the natural insulation qualities of the sole.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a shoe sole havingmeans extending therethrough connecting the foot of the wearer directlyto the earths surface eliminating the insulation normally provided bythe shoe sole.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe sole of the classdescribed above which is inexpensive to manufacture, durable in service,and completely effective in its action.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, inwhich:

Figure l is a plan view of a shoe sole incorporating the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sec tion taken alongthe line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross section taken alongthe line 44 of Figure 3, looking in the direction indicated.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of contactelement for a shoe sole.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical crosssection taken alongthe line 66 of Figure 5, looking in the direction indicated.

It is an established fact that the earth has both electrical andelectro-magnetic waves extending therethrough and emanating therefrom,and it is believed that contact of the human body with these wavesprovides a beneficial effect on the body causing a healthy condition tobe established. The present invention is intended to assist in theestablishment of the contact between the human body and the earth so asto permit the action of the waves present in the earth to affect thebody.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like referencecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, thereference numeral 10 indicates generally a shoe sole constructed in anormal manner from normal materials such as leather, plastic, rubber,fiber, or combinations thereof, all of which have a dielectric orinsulating quality of varying amounts.

The sole 10 is provided centrally of the heel portion 11 thereof with acontact element, generally indicated at 12, and comprising a threadedbolt 13 and a cooperating tubular and headed threaded nut 14 which isadapted to engage over the threaded bolt 13, as best seen in Figure 2,so as to clamp the contact element 12 to the heel portion 11 of the sole10.

Forwardly of the heel portion 11 in that portion of the sole 10indicated at 15 commonly supporting the ball of the foot, there isprovided a plurality of staples 16 which penetrate thesole 10 and areflanged as at 17 to grip the sole 10 to prevent the removal of thestaples 16 therefrom. The staples 16 are formed of electricallyconducting material such as copper, brass, or the like, and provide anelectric contact through the sole 10.

A plurality of staples 18 are positioned under the great toe area 19 ofthe sole 10 and extend through the sole 10 being locked therein byflanges 20 similar to the flanges 17 of the staples 16. The staples 18are likewise formed of electric conducting material such as copper orbrass.

The contact element 12 is similarly formed of copper or brass and isadapted to conduct electricity through the sole 10.

Referring now to Figure 3, wherein a modified form of the invention isdisclosed, a sole, generally indicated at 10' is provided with a contactelement 12 identical to the contact element 12 in the preferred form ofthe invention illustrated in Figure 1, and has a pair of contactelements 12a secured to the sole 10 under the portion 15' normallycarrying the ball of the foot. A contact element 12b is positioned inthe great toe area 19' of the sole 10 and is adapted to have the greattoe of the foot of the wearer in contact therewith. The contact element12a and the contact element 12b are identical in every respect to thecontact element 12 and each have a bolt portion 13 and tubular nutportion 14, as shown in Figure 4.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 5, a rivet 21 is provided asan alternate type of contact element to replace the contact elements 12,12a and 12b in the shoe sole 10'. The rivet 21 is provided with a head22 engaging one side of the sole 10", a shank 23 extending through thesole 10", and a washer 24 engaged over the opposite side of the shoesole 10' and having the outer end 25 of the shank 23 riveted thereto asillustrated in Figure 6.

Each of the elements illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 6 provides anelectrical contact through the sole of the shoe so that the foot of thewearer can be in contact with the wave energy of the earths surface.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the invention, itshould be understood that numerous additional structural modificationsand adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope ofthe appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A shoe sole comprising an elongated dielectric panel having a heelsupporting portion, a ball supporting portion and a great toe supportingportion, an electrical contact formed from a headed bolt extendingthrough said panel medially of said heel supporting portion with thehead of said headed bolt in position to contact the heel of the wearer,a tubular nut threaded on to the headed bolt from the underside thereofclamping said headed bolt in position in said panel, a plurality ofelectric contacts formed of generally U-shaped staples having a pair ofspaced apart parallel legs integrally connected by a perpendicularlyextending bight portion with said legs extending through said sole atsaid ball supporting portion,

end portions on the ends of said legs opposite to said bight portionperpendicularly inwardly ofifset with respect to said legs, said bightportions engaging the upper surface of said panel and said ofiset endportions engaging beneath said panel to lock said contacts to saidpanel, and 5 a plurality of additional contacts extending through saidpanel in said great toe supporting portion with said additional contactsbeing identical to the contacts extending through the ball supportingportion of said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSQuarrie Mar. 10, 1886 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 13, 1897 GreatBritain Nov. 16, 1898 Great Britain Jan. 19, 1933 Great Britain Oct. 27,1939

